Truth and Lies
by Flowerchild
Summary: Months after defeating Ultimecia, Squall and the other finds themselves in a new mission, but they forget that less powerful enemies can still be dangerous.


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Truth and Lies

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AN: Hi there, and thanks for taking a look at my fanfic, and I hope that you continue to read it. This is my first fanfic ever created, and though I am usually accustomed to writing books, or short stories, this piece proved to be a great challenge to me, so a thousand apologies (lol) if you don't like it. Anyway, I would seriously appreciate feedback, though please, have some respect. Thank you very much once again and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1

"Another day, but the same boring food…" muttered Squall to himself as he scanned the cafeteria menu for something that didn't read "hotdog". With much disappointment, Squall placed an order for the special, being of course a hotdog, then dumped his meal on a tray and began to make his way over to a table occupied only with Zell and a large plate loaded with his favourite food, of which we all know. Ignoring the amazed looks and whispers directed at Squall from the first year students, he pulled out a chair and took a seat across from Zell.

"I can't believe they're still on this…" muttered Squall as he tried to pay no heed to all the curious looks.

"It's mostly the new students, but I'm surprised you're bent outta shape over this, man." replied Zell as he eyed the food before him.

"Sure, recognition is important, but this is ridiculous. It's been months since we defeated Ultimecia."

"Aww, come on Squall, you know you like it."

"Whatever…"

Zell leaned back in his chair trying to look important as he caught sight of a few students pointing and whispering at him excitedly. He grinned and bent forward to place his elbows on the table before saying with a sigh, "You know what they say Squall: once a hero, always a hero, and you know what? We are heroes."

"…Uh huh…" Squall rolled his eyes then let them fall to the pile of hotdogs before Zell.

"…You aren't seriously going to eat those all, are you?"

Zell pulled his arms off the table and stretched, an even bigger grin on his face now.

"Hell ya baby! Each and every one of em!"

"That's inhuman…" mumbled Squall as he watched with disgust as hotdog after hotdog was shoved into Zell's mouth.

Squall ignored the incomprehensible words that tried to fight their way around the food stuffed in Zell's mouth, and rather turned his attention to the intercom that crackled and came to life.

"Squall Leonhart, please report to Headmaster Cid's office immediately."

Grateful for an excuse to leave, Squall quickly got up from his seat and made a move to exit, but was stopped by Zell's distorted voice.

"Dude, you want these hotdogs?" he asked as he pointed to Squall's abandoned plate.

"No thanks, they're all yours. I've lost my appetite…" he called back as he pushed open the cafeteria door and left.

Chapter 2

"Sir?" stated Squall as he came to a stop before the headmaster and saluted the man who sat proudly behind a large desk.

Cid looked up from some papers scattered across his bureau and cried, "Ah, Squall! Prompt as always, good, good. I've received a call concerning a new mission and the client has specifically asked for you. This customer says he's heard of your heroics and wishes for you to put your talent to use in this mission to be sure it is completed successfully."

Squall nodded once then asked, "Exactly who is the client and what is the mission?"

"The client fears for his safety and will thus remain anonymous. The mission, however, is simply an assassination that is to be carried out quickly and quietly. The target is Guile TonMort, a confirmed suspect who is trading lethal weapons with enemies who should not have them." he slid a file across the desk, which Squall picked up and began to flip through, taking note of the names, briefings, and a picture of Guile. He stopped when he came to the end of the file, finding nothing but a blueprint.

"What's this?" asked Squall holding the piece of paper up for Cid to see.

The Headmaster leaned over his desk slightly and peered at the blueprint before answering, "That is were the assassination is to take place. It seems Guile will be making a trade with one of his buyers tonight at that old mythril factory two hours south of Esthar. The "X" on the blueprints show where you will be able to stay unseen until you make your move and eliminate the target."

"Where has all this information come from and how does it affect this client?" asked Squall, his brow furrowing as he snapped the file shut and dropped it back onto the Headmaster's desk.

"We don't know, but frankly the Garden isn't in the position to be picky when it comes to choosing jobs; we're a little stripped on cash this time of year. How can we refuse a job where the client is willing to pay 200,000gil?"

"200,000gil?!" repeated Squall with shock.

"Per party member and I plan to send out another two SeeDs to accompany you. We're short on mercenaries right now; this is prime vacation time, and either they're at the beach or helping with the reconstruction of Trabia Garden. Nevertheless, I'll need to know your answer now."

"I'll need Irvine." replied Squall instantly, "A gun is better than anything else for an assassination. As for my other member, I'll take Quistis."

"I'll inform Irvine immediately, but unfortunately Quistis will not be able to join you due to a sudden bout of the flu. Selphie is also unavailable since she is part of the crew reconstructing Trabia Garden."

"Alright then…" said Squall as he crossed his arms and ran through his choices in his head. Seifer? Ha…whatever. What about Zell? he thought, then stopped when he remembered his lunch with his easily excited friend. He could take one of the new SeeDs…naw, better to rely on a friend than a stranger. This left only one person, one person he wasn't willing to endanger.

Squall sighed before giving the last name, "Rinoa."

Cid nodded, "It's settled then, I'll tell Irvine and Rinoa to meet you at the front gate as soon as possible."

Squall saluted again and asked, "When do we leave?"

The Headmaster leaned back in his chair and replied, "Now. Dismissed."

Chapter 3

"We'll stop here and walk the rest of the way; there's no point in them seeing the airship and scaring them off." announced Squall to his party as he brought the Ragnarok to a stop ten minutes away from the factory. Sniper in hand, and shot gun in the other, Irvine pushed open the airship door and jumped out, Squall following after, turning back to the door to help Rinoa down. Squall looked at her for a moment, and considered telling her to wait in the airship. He just didn't like this, he didn't want to risk losing her again. 

"Squall?" she asked as she noticed the worry in his eyes, "What's wrong?"

Squall blinked and shook his head slightly before replying, "Hey Rinoa…maybe you should stay-"

She cut him off gently, "Squall, I can take care of myself now, I'll be alright, ok? Besides, I like being here with you; someone needs to watch over you." she smiled sweetly and took his hand.

"There's no arguing with you, is there?" he asked as he pulled her close and leaned in for a kiss.

He was stopped, however, by Irvine's voice, which announced loudly to them both, "I'm sorry if I am interrupting…wait, I'm not sorry, since I believe we have a mission to do in, oh I don't know," he looked at his watch, "20 minutes?"

Squall rolled his eyes and turned from Rinoa to Irvine.

"Since when do you care about missions?"

"Since I have a date tonight and need to be back in time!" he replied as he shifted the sniper resting on his shoulder.

"Figures…" muttered Squall as Rinoa giggled and together they began to follow Irvine, who was moving towards the factory at a brisk pace.

A few minutes later they came to the top of the last hill and looked down upon the old factory; the building was in bad repair and looked like it was going to collapse at any moment.

"Should we be going in there?…" asked Rinoa hesitantly, "I mean, it doesn't look all that safe…"

"This is where the mission is to take place, this is where we will go. Besides, Guile wouldn't bring a customer here if the risk of the building collapsing on them was possible." replied Squall as he lead the way down the hill to the doors of the factory.

He stopped when he arrived before the giant metal doors, and his eyes fell to the chain and lock on the entrance.

"We'll have to find another way in. If Guile's been here before, he'll know that the door is locked, and if he returns and he finds the lock gone, he'll know someone is here. Let's check around the back for an alternative entrance; there must be docking doors or something for transportation trucks."

The party nodded then quickly moved around, scanning the sides of the building for a entrance or anything else that could get them in, and stopped when they found a rusted over metal docking door that was half open. 

"This will do." said Squall with a nod of his head, "Let's get in there and take our position before Guile gets here."

Rinoa and Irvine nodded and together they quickly scrambled under the door and blinked a few times once they were inside, hoping their eyes would adjust to the murky darkness. The factory looked worse inside than it did outside; there was a layer of dust on everything and the machinery was extremely run down, as well as littered with cobwebs. Stifling sneezes from the irritation of the dust, Squall pulled out the blueprint and began to lead them to the area where they were to take the shot: a wide catwalk high above the floor; from there they would certainly be able to see everything. Squall placed a foot on the first stair and winced as it groaned loudly beneath his weight, causing Irvine and Rinoa to quickly freeze and make no move for the stairs.

"Squall, no way…I'd like to live to see my date tonight." said Irvine as he eyed the steps, "Those will probably give out at any second, and that catwalk looks mighty high from here…it would be a long way down."

"A long time to scream…" whispered Rinoa as she bit her lip.

Squall stepped up onto the second stair, and this one made no protest against his weight.

"Look, it was just the first one, it's fine. Now get up here."

Irvine's shoulders slumped and Rinoa patted him on the back reassuringly as they began to follow Squall up the stairs, the whole time Irvine muttering about heights and idiotic risks.

Squall led them down the catwalk a bit before bringing them to a halt and whispering to them, "This is the place. From here, you, Irvine, will take the shot and assassinate Guile. Don't forget that you are to kill Guile, and Guile only, unless we are threatened. As soon as the shot is fired and the target dead we are to retreat to the ship and return to the Garden. Understood?"

"Yea, yea, yea," muttered Irvine as he laid down on the ground and put his sniper into position, "Only shoot the bad guy…"

Smiling, Rinoa knelt down on the ground by Irvine, Squall at her other side, and in the darkness her hand found the hand to the one she loved. Squall returned the grin then awaited patiently for the target to show. 

The set time for assassination was 7:oo pm, the same time Guile was to make his trade, and slowly, 7:oo came, and went, and time passed on to 7:30 before Irvine finally spoke again.

"Squall, this is insane! I'm down here breathing dust and for 30 minutes there has been no sign of Guile. Either this is the wrong factory, wrong time, or maybe the trade was cancelled, either way, he's not coming. Let's just pack up and get out of here!"

Squall sighed and shook his head before replying, "Alright, let's get out of here and report back to Cid."

"Finally…" sighed Irvine as stretched and stood up.

Suddenly, through the darkness the sound of a gun was heard as a bullet escaped from a barrel and Irvine cried out, falling back to the ground as he clutched his leg, wincing in pain. Before Squall could even do as much as move, he felt the coldness of a blade pressed to his throat and he froze, just his eyes moving as they snapped to Rinoa, only to see what he feared: a gun pointed to her head. They were surrounded on the catwalk by six men, all of them armed, all of them dressed in black. Before anything else could be said or done, one of the six stepped forward and cast sleep on the party, sending Squall into a suffocating darkness and the unyielding grip of sleep.

Chapter 4

Darkness. Nothing more, nothing less but that cold touch of a hazy sleep that dragged grogginess and delusion over Squall's eyes. Memories floated this way and that, and with much concentration and will, Squall grasped anxiously at them with all his might, desperate for the answers to where he was. Nothing came to him. That is until everything snapped into place as Rinoa's voice cut through the darkness and through the hallucinations, waking Squall gently from his sleep.

"Wake up, Squall…I'm afraid…I need you here with me." whispered Rinoa as she knelt down beside her knight and pushed his hair away from his forehead.

To Rinoa's delight, Squall moaned and forced his eyes open before muttering, "I'm here, it's ok…Where are we? Where's Irvine? Is he ok?"

Squall sat up sharply, causing his head to swim, though he was quickly steadied my Rinoa's hand that gripped his shoulder and helped him to his feet.

"I'm over here." muttered Irvine who was slumped in a corner, holding his bandana over the bullet wound that still leaked blood. Squall looked to Irvine with concern, yet the sharp shooter only grinned at him and shrugged.

"No worries, Squall, just a scratch."

Squall nodded slowly, and turned his concern from Irvine to the next serious item on the mind: what was going on? Never had he felt so helpless before; he was lost, confused, for all around him were metal walls, and one door, that was obviously locked. What had happened? Where were they?…

Fate seemed to answer those questions, for suddenly, the cell door was thrown open and a man stepped through, accompanied by three guards, of who appeared like the men who had jumped Squall's party back on the catwalk. The man in front was strangely familiar…the black hair, the blue eyes, and the sharp facial features of a hawk like expression that bore the lines of scars and age…all so familiar. Squall's mind scanned his memory quickly, trying to match faces with names, when suddenly it hit him. This was the man who was in the picture that had been in the folder for the mission briefing, the target, the enemy. 

"Guile…" muttered Squall as he clenched his fists and glared at the man who entered smirking.

"So you do remember me? I knew that picture would come in handy; less need for an introduction when we met."

Squall ignored him; he didn't like this feeling of helplessness, he wanted answers, now.

"What's going on? How did you know where to find us?"

Guile laughed once and shook his head before looking back to Squall with hard and cold eyes.

"Come on, Squall, think about it. An anonymous client, so much information for such an unclear mission? Use your head and put it together."

Squall could have laughed at his own foolishness had the situation not been so serious. It was all so obvious, everything just clicked into one simple answer.

"We were set up…" Squall muttered.

"That's right. There's a smart boy."

"There was no client…this was all a lie."

"Ah, not quite, there was truth in small details. I am in the trading business, and yes, we sell very dangerous weapons, which causes people like you to blame us for trying to make a simple living."

"You are selling weapons that kill, to people who kill…" whispered Rinoa.

Guile smirked and shrugged, "People kill, not the weapons. It's not our fault if we don't know our client has criminal problems."

"No, it's not your fault…"growled Squall, "Just your responsibility."

Guile ignored him and simply sent him a sneer before continuing.

"Anyway, things are getting a little hot around these parts; the Esthar police and the entire Galbadia Garden has been hunting us down lately like animals, closing down my boys this way and that. I can't have that, you know, it is bad for business. We've come to this simple plan: we will use you to get what we want. Everyone knows who you are, and each and every one of you are valuable to all three Gardens. Now, should a few of these precious SeeDs go missing….or rather abducted, I'm sure the Gardens would most certainly do everything in their power to get these noble saviours back. It's like this: we've sent our demands to the Headmaster of Balamb, and all we're asking is to have some space, to be able to continue our business in peace on another continent where we won't be bothered. We expect the Headmaster's decision to be reported back to us immediately, unless he is willing to pay the consequences should he resist. We guarantee that when we reach our new destination, you three will be set free."

"B.S you'll let us go! There's no way the Garden will go along with this; back up will be sent immediately!" yelled Squall.

"Actually they will agree to our demands." Squall took note that Guile didn't object to the part about not letting them go, " It seems I forgot to mention, that should the Garden decide not to comply, each one of you will be killed, slowly, and very painfully. Should they still refuse our demands, then perhaps one of our weapons will be unleashed on a town? Even better on one of their precious Gardens?"

"You're terrible…" murmured Rinoa as she gripped Squall's arm tighter.

Guile's head snapped to her and he suddenly shoved Squall out of the way and into a wall, giving Guile the perfect chance to advance on Rinoa and back her into a corner. Slowly, Guile's cold eyes traced Rinoa from head to toe, and he smirked to himself when Squall's ring caught his gaze. He reached out gently to the chain around her neck and he held up the ring to his eye level, pulling Rinoa closer as he did so. As soon as Squall was able to scramble to his feet, he lunged at Guile, but was stopped by the other two guards who held Squall off; Guile paid him no heed.

"Beautiful craftsmanship…" muttered TonMort as he eyed the ring, his sight sometimes drifting back to Rinoa's gentle face, "You know, I do believe I'll keep this."

With one sharp and sudden jerk, he yanked the ring from Rinoa's throat, the chain that held it snapping at the back as it was pulled free from it's usual resting place. Rinoa let out a small cry of pain and alarm has one of her dearest treasures was taken from her, and she reached out for it, begging to have it back, but was stopped when Guile grabbed her wrist and threw her to the ground. That was enough to make Squall very angry.

With hidden strength, he threw the guards off him and charged at Guile, then stopped before him and threw a punch with all his might. After that one hit he backed off, slightly out of breath from rage, and he stood, his fists still clenched, as silence overtook the room. 

Very slowly, and very gently, Guile's fingers reached up to the blood that was streaming from his nose, and it was evidently reflected in his eyes that he was full of pure rage and a new hatred. After shooting an angry glare at the guards, Guile dove at Squall and wrestled him to the ground and pinned him, then began to throw punch after punch at Squall. Cries and pleas from Rinoa echoed through the room, but finally all came to a stop when Irvine raised his good leg and gave Guile a sharp kick in the head.

"We said back off!" shouted Irvine as he stared angrily at TonMort.

As Guile shook his head and regained his posture, Rinoa scrambled to Squall and cradled him in her arms as he moaned slightly and held his head, ignoring the cuts and bruises that now covered his face. After wiping some blood from his own face, Guile stepped slowly over to Irvine who still sat leaning against the wall.

"Ah yes…" muttered Guile, "the trigger happy cowboy…"

Guile raised a foot and placed it on Irvine's wound and pressed on it, causing Irvine to bite back pain as he felt the bullet being pushed deeper into his flesh, triggering more blood to pour freely.

"So, how does it feel to be the one who is shot for once?" asked Guile as he looked down on Irvine, then finally, removed his foot after a few more moments in time. As soon as he had removed his weight, Irvine took a slight gasp for breath, and quickly appeared paler and fainter; Guile turned to the exit, but was stopped by Rinoa's voice.

"Please, Guile, we are at your obviously at your mercy and power…but please…please may I have my ring?"

TonMort turned sharply back to face her, and after a few seconds of staring into the sadness in Rinoa's eyes, Guile threw the ring to the floor and spat on it with some blood from his nose that had seeped into his mouth. With that he turned on his heel, the guards close behind him, and the door was thrown shut with a clang. 

"It's ok," whispered Rinoa to Squall as she held him in her arms while Irvine pressed his bandana tighter to his gunshot wound, "The Garden will send someone for us; we'll get out of this mess just like we always do."

"Yeah but this time there's no one to send, no one who's capable for this sort of mission." murmured Squall as Rinoa tore a corner of her overcoat off and began to use it to wipe the blood from Squall's face.

"No, Squall," replied Irvine, "There are two people who could get us out…if they don't kill each other first."

Squall thought for a moment at who the two were, then stopped and sighed before muttering, "We're doomed then…"

Chapter 5 

"Would you shut up and slow down?!" shouted Zell as he clutched the car's dashboard while Seifer sped down the alley roads, turning sharply to avoid pedestrians or, a stray cat.

"You see, Zell, this is what's wrong with you: you are way too tense." smirked Seifer as he leaned back in his chair, one hand on the steering wheel, "You need to relax, enjoy the good things in life, or you make me look like an idiot when I'm seen with you." he slowed down to inspect a few ladies, then making a small noise of approval in his throat, he slammed his foot on the gas pedal again, causing Zell to only grip the dashboard tighter.

"Dude, I'm all for speed and everything, but when my life is at stake, then speed becomes an issue, and I'm pretty sure now would be a good time to stay alive. We do have a mission, ya know, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised if you've forgotten."

"Naa, it's all good. We follow these directions Guile sent with his demands, I bust our way in, kill a few bad guys here and there, save Squall's sorry ass, then blow something up while I make our daring escape." replied Seifer calmly and confidently as if he had already planned the whole thing through.

"What?! Did the Headmaster's orders go right through your thick head?! We follow the plan; we go in saying we're here to agree to Guile's demands, we sneak off to find Squall and the others, get everyone out quietly, and THEN we get to call in some back up and kick some ass. So don't forget it, we stick to the Headmaster's plan."

"Psh…fine, but on the record, my way is so much more exciting than the Headmaster's. If I had my way-"

Zell cut him off, "Just shut that hole in your face and stick with the plan; you remember what happened last time you disobeyed orders. I'm surprised you even got back in Garden."

Seifer was silent, but broke the moment of awkwardness my swinging a little harder than usual on a turn, causing the car's left side wheels to hover above the pavement.

"What the hell is your problem?!" yelled Zell, "That's it! I can't take this ride any longer! Stop the bloody car before I punch your head in so hard, you-"

Tires screeched as Seifer slammed on the car brakes, sending Zell flying into the dashboard at high speed. After removing the car keys from the ignition, Seifer grinned and gave Zell a sharp slap on the back, who was busy holding his head which now bore a rather large bruise on his forehead.

"You see, chicken wuss, this is a good example of what happens when you don't wear your seatbelt. Now come on, outta the car, we've got a mission to do."

Struggling to hold down the many hotdogs he had eaten once again at lunch today, Zell stumbled out of the car, pausing for a moment to lean against the hood, hoping the brace would help cease the spinning in his head. After a few long moments of nausea, Zell was finally able to find the strength in him to stagger after Seifer, who was already at the door of their destination.

The building was a fairly good size, big, but nothing monstrously gigantic compared to the other buildings here in downtown Esthar. From the outside it appeared to be nothing more than a simple weapon and armour shop, but once Seifer and Zell had entered and discovered how little space was used in the front for simple arms, it was obvious that there were more dangerous things in the back that were apparently not for sale to all customers. Taking their time to enter, Zell and Seifer paused at displays here and there, playing the part of the regular customer until the need to make their move arouse. One particular display caught Zell's eye, however, and he paused before it to inspect the weapons sheltered by the glass case that contained them. Inside were a gunblade, a shot gun, sniper, and pinwheel, all of them very familiar; Zell frowned with anger as he realised to whom they belonged. Finally, after getting a sharp look and nod from Seifer, Zell moved away from the display, following his partner to the front desk where a clerk sat reading a newspaper in a rather bored manner. Only after flipping through a few more pages in the paper did the clerk look up and acknowledge Seifer and Zell, of who were both looking rather impatient now. 

"Good afternoon gentleman." muttered the man behind the desk as he set the newspaper down and gave Seifer and Zell a quick look up and down, "What can I do for you today?"

Seifer leaned over the counter and lowered his voice slightly, "We're here for Guile."

The man looked around uncomfortably and shifted himself slightly on the stool he sat on, his eyes trailing from Seifer's glare to the walls.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't know who you are talking about." the clerk finally replied.

"Really? Maybe you'd understand if you got the message from my fist!" growled Seifer as he grabbed the clerk by the shirt and hauled him over the counter so they looked at each other eye to eye, "Lets try this again…" muttered Seifer as Zell slapped his forehead and began to mutter, "We came for the SeeDs, and we aren't leaving without them."

Panic flooded the man's eyes as fear got the best of him, it was apparent he was new to the job, and finally he stuttered quietly, "G-Guile's been expecting y-you Please follow me…"

Seifer let go of the clerk's shirt sharply, and watched with cold eyes as the man stepped from behind the desk and moved to a door that was on the far left wall; both Zell and Seifer followed quietly behind him. 

Silently, the two were led through empty hallways that zigzagged this way and that, though every few feet was a plain door, that led to who knew where. The thought of how they were going to find Squall and the others in this place, was enough to make Zell sick. After many turns, the clerk finally brought them to a stop by one of the countless doors and pushed it open, and once all three were finally inside and the door was closed, the clerk turned around nervously to face the two SeeDs.

"Guile will meet you here, but I'm going to have to ask for your weapons." the clerk pulled a small pistol from behind him, and held it with shaky hands.

Seifer rolled his eyes, but complied and drew his gunblade quickly before throwing it roughly to the ground. The clerk kicked it to the side, then stepped over to Zell and tightened his grip on the gun.

"Y-you're turn now, come on."

"The only weapons I've got on me, are my fists."

With amazing speed and agility, Zell kicked the gun from the man's grip, and before any could catch up in what had just happened, Zell threw a brutal punch for the clerk's face, before finally delivering one more sharp blow to the his stomach, that of which quickly caused him to crumple to the ground. Seifer could do nothing but gape.

"What happened to the whole 'lets keep it quiet' crap?" muttered Seifer as he regained his composure, "Still….not bad…for a chicken wuss."

Before Zell could even take a shot at regaining his dignity, Seifer had retrieved his gunblade from the floor, and began to sprint out the door, pausing only to call back to Zell.

"Let's go, we don't have all day! Let's find the others and get out of here before I can't restrain myself anymore and am forced to kill or blow something up!"

Muttering and cursing loudly, Zell took off after Seifer, and without another thought in mind but to get this mission over with, they began their long search of scouring the halls for the abducted members of SeeD. 

It was a shame they didn't see the surveillance camera mounted in the corner of the room they had just left…

Chapter 6

"It's ok," whispered Rinoa, either to Squall who was still cradled in her lap, or to herself, "It's ok…someone will come for us."

Squall simply smiled at her faintly and let his eyes droop.

"How long have we been here?" murmured Irvine, who's pale complexion was growing fainter as the pool of blood beneath is leg continued to slowly become larger. 

"Beats me." muttered Squall as he shifted his position slightly , wincing as he did so, "We were taken off at about 8:oo pm, so I'm guessing it's got to be day by now."

"Do…do you think anyone is on their way?" whispered Rinoa as she held Squall tighter, "Will they even come for us?"

Everyone was silent. 

It was not for some time did noise ever actually spread it's way through their small cell. The sound started off as something muffled, but became clearer and clearer, taking on the shape of voices rather than just distorted words. As the speech came closer and closer to their cell door, Squall's brow furrowed as he concentrated solely on the voices; it was apparent he wasn't the only one who became interested in the sound for Rinoa's breathing had slowed, and Irvine lay still, all of them listening intently to the approaching noises. 

Slowly, Squall sat up, wincing slightly as he propped himself up, then after a few moments of straining to hear the sound, he asked quietly, "Is that…"

"For the last time, we've been down this hallway already!" 

"Shut up, chicken wuss before I stuff you in one of these rooms to keep you quiet."

"Zell and Seifer!" gasped Rinoa as Squall's eyes widened.

Instantly, Rinoa and Squall scrambled to the door, and while Squall banged on the exit, Rinoa called out to Seifer and Zell through the crack beneath the door, while Irvine pounded on the floor with his fist; all of them were screaming the two SeeDs' names.

"Zell! Seifer!" screamed Rinoa as Squall continued to beat on the door.

"We're in here!" shouted Irvine from his spot on the floor; they all paused when Zell's voice cried out from behind the door.

"Dude, do you hear that?" 

"Of course I hear it, you moron." replied Seifer as he smacked Zell across the head.

"What the hell was that for?!" replied Zell.

"Both of you, shut up and get us out of here!" shouted Squall through the door as he began to strike on it again. 

With much muttering from Zell, he and Seifer made their way over to the door from which the sound of Squall's voice came, and pausing before it, Zell knelt down and peered through the crack at the bottom of the entrance.

"Squall…?" asked Zell as he tried to make shapes out, "You in there?"

Rinoa giggled while Squall muttered under his breath before replying, "Yes Zell, we are…"

"Oh, ok then! Don't worry, we'll have you guys out of there in no time!"

Zell leapt to his feet and reached for the doorknob, and after jingling it a few times, he knelt back down to the crack beneath the door.

"Squall…?" asked Zell again, "The door's locked."

Irvine shook his head and rolled his eyes before mumbling, "I'm surprised they made it this far…"

Before Squall could reply to Zell, not that he had been planning to, Seifer reached down and yanked him up from the floor and shoved him rudely out of the way.

"Ok, you're done, chicken wuss, outta the way and let me finish this."

"What are you going to do?" asked Zell roughly as he picked himself up from the ground, glaring furiously at Seifer.

"What do I usually do when something gets in my way?"

There was silence for awhile, until the sound of ammo being loaded echoed quietly through the hall and cell; Squall's eyes widened and he grabbed Rinoa and threw them away from the door just as Seifer fired a few bullets at the hinges of the door. Sheltering Rinoa with his body, Squall looked over his shoulder just in time to see Seifer give the door a sharp kick, sending the whole thing to the floor. 

Gunblade resting on his shoulder, Seifer sauntered in, looking quite proud and cocky as Zell pushed past him to get a look at the others in the room.

"You idiot!" shouted Squall as he stood from the floor and helped Rinoa to her feet, "Great job, you just let the whole building know you are here!"

"I save your ass and this is the gratitude I get?" asked Seifer as he slid his gunblade away.

"Shut up, just shut up. We have to get out of here now before the whole building is after us. Zell and Seifer help Irvine up and lets get out of here now." announced Squall as he stepped towards the door. 

"Hold it." proclaimed a cold voice as the hammer of a gun was pulled back, "Hands on your head, all of you."

Squall froze and sighed as he complied and raised his hands, everyone else following his motion as Guile stepped into the room, gun raised and pointed at Rinoa. "All weapons on the ground now or I shoot the girl."

"Squall?…" asked Zell quietly.

"Do it!"

Glaring coldly, Seifer threw his gunblade once more to the ground, while Zell stood motionless.

"I'm unarmed." said Zell, "I only fight with my fists."

Guile took aim at Rinoa's head, "You aren't lying to me are you?" Rinoa whimpered slightly and panic overtook Squall's eyes. 

"No! I swear it!"

Guile smiled, yet didn't lower the gun, "I know you're telling the truth, because when I hold the gun like this, people don't lie to me."

Zell nodded hurriedly as Guile's eyes scanned the room, then finally he said with a smirk on his face, "Well, five beloved SeeDs now…the Garden will certainly meet our demands without hesitation, and perhaps even a few new ones we will send. Come on, all of you, let's go find you another room to stay in; it seems this one's lost a door."

Guile stepped into the hallway, and motioned everyone with his gun to get out, but before anyone could move, before anything could be said, another voice, one that didn't belong to any of the six in the room, cut through the air as sharply as a blade.

"Shiva, Diamond Dust!"

From behind Guile shot a river of ice that fastened itself around his feet, holding him to the ground, and before TonMort could even catch up with what had just happened, a whip cracked through the air, yanking the gun from his hands. All peered out into the hall, and to their relief, saw Quistis. 

"Quistis!" cried Squall with surprise, "I thought you were sick in bed back at the Garden!"

"I was," replied Quistis, obviously congested, "but when I heard the Headmaster had sent Zell and Seifer, I knew they'd need me to bail them out. Apparently I was right."

"Hey, I don't need no chick to bail me out of trouble!" objected Seifer.

"Shut up, you two didn't exactly do a bang up job." muttered Irvine as he leaned harder on Zell's arm.

"All of you, quiet and lets get out of here. We'll leave Guile where he is and let the other SeeDs take care of him; I'm presuming you brought back up Quistis?" asked Squall as Rinoa took his hand.

"Of course, I'm not that stupid."

Zell and Seifer avoided everyone's looks. 

"Alright then, lets get out of here." announced Squall, stepping around Guile who was trying desperately to free his legs. 

"No!" screamed Guile, "I've worked too hard to now be overthrown because of six mangy kids! I will not go down like this!" 

Swifter than a snake, Guile reached to his boot and drew a long dagger that he used to hack at the ice with, of which parted easily at the mercy of the blade. Within seconds, an enraged Guile was charging at an unarmed and helpless Squall, yet once again, Quistis was able to attack one last time.

"Ifrit…Hell Fire…"

A ball of fire, fresh from the fountains of Hades, fell from out of nowhere and enveloped Guile in it's deadly grasp. Scream and flame and it all came to an end. The smoke and fire cleared and Guile was gone, his only remains: a pile of ash. All were quiet for a moment until Squall whispered, "Let's go home before we meet anymore trouble…"

Chapter 7

"Wowee!" gasped Selphie after being told the whole story, "Super-duper-mega-bummer I wasn't there! I would've kicked that slime balls' butt so hard, he wouldn't have known what hit him! And you getting shot in the leg and all?! Wow, you are so brave to have made it back, and after you single handily beat Guile in a one on one battle! You're the best, Irvy!"

Selphie giggled and hugged Irvine tight, who blushed and tipped back his hat before replying, "Yes sir, I was just doing my job. The whole thing was so unbelievable, I wouldn't have believed it had I not been there myself."

"Ahem…" said Quistis loudly as she took a seat at the cafeteria table with Irvine and Selphie, "It is a rather unbelievable story, isn't it Zell?" she asked as Zell pulled up a chair up too after setting a tray of hot dogs down on the table.

"Yeah, that's one hell of a tall tale…How about you tell Selphie the real story now?"

"You lied to me?!" asked Selphie as she pushed away from Irvine and glared.

"Err…I may have slightly bent the truth…"

Seifer, while passing by to the cafeteria line, gave Irvine a sharp smack across his head before calling back as he moved on, "Yeah, tell her about how I saved the day!"

"I don't remember you saving the day." answered Rinoa back to Seifer as she and Squall took a seat with the others. Seifer simply ignored her and continued on while Squall stared at the hotdog that was on the tray he had brought back with him from the cafeteria.

"Another day, but the same boring food…" he muttered as Rinoa giggled.

"Ah, come on now, Squall, they're damn good hotdogs and you know it!" said Zell as he banged the table with his fist, his other hand shoving another 'tube steak' into his mouth. 

"Whatever…"

Just as Squall was about to choke down a bite of food, the loud speaker crackled once more to life and Headmaster Cid's voice echoed through the cafeteria.

"Would Squall Leonhart report to the Headmaster's room immediately please."

"Another mission?" asked Rinoa as she finished taking a sip of her drink and setting it back on the table.

"I wouldn't be surprised," replied Squall as he stood from his chair, "I think there will be many more missions yet to come."

****


End file.
